As Washington struggles with what may be its final chance to repeal Obamacare, the law’s problems in the states continue. One major problem that has plagued Obamacare for years is that not enough young and healthy people are signing up for health insurance coverage. The Obama administration, to coax more Americans into signing up, attempted […]
Eligibility Check Reveals Massive Medicaid Problems in Oregon
Oregon attracted national ridicule in 2013 and 2014 as its state-run online Obamacare exchange, Cover Oregon, epically failed to sign up even one person for coverage, despite a federal grant of $303 million. The fiasco was so colossal that the state gave up completely and had the federal government take over its enrollment for the […]
Are You Ready for Some Legalized Sports Betting?
If you were ready for some football, then the National Football League’s 2017 season opener on Thursday, September 7, provided quite a tasty first course: The Kansas City Chiefs upset the favored New England Patriots by a final score of 42-27, well outside the 8-point spread that bookmakers offered on the game. Bettors supporting the […]
Bill Addresses International Challenges to Online Privacy
American businesses have taken the lead in cloud computing technologies, enabling citizens around the world to communicate with each other, store photos, videos, and documents with greater security and at lower costs. However, as this technology continues to evolve, challenges in protecting individual privacy become more evident, including data of U.S. citizens that is stored […]
Two Significant Healthcare Bills Introduced to Replace Obamacare
On Wednesday, two important healthcare bills were introduced in the Senate to replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare. One bill, introduced by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), would amend the healthcare reform legislation that passed the House in May, the American […]
No, Obamacare’s Problems Are Not Over
Last Wednesday, August 23, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that only one county, Paulding County, Ohio, would have no health insurers participating in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare. Admittingly, this was a very different scenario from what was anticipated just a few months ago. In June, the New York […]
The Can-Kicking Congress: Business as Usual
In political patois, “kicking the can down the road” connotes procrastination. As long as the proverbial can is kicked “down the road,” rather than picked up, then the proper disposition of the derelict container is put off until some future point in time. And much like the (equally proverbial) kicker’s aversion to taking definitive action on a relatively straightforward task, the U.S. Congress is composed of 535 “can kickers,” given their predilection to avoid taking action until the last possible minute. On Tuesday, September 5, 2017, when the current Congress reconvenes after its annual August recess, it will have less than a month to complete several “must pass” items.
The Summer of Healthcare Discontent
As the end of their summer recess approaches, the Republican-controlled Congress has still not done what it has promised to do since March 2010: repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, and allow consumer-driven forces to create more competition and choices in order to drive down healthcare costs. It has been said that Republicans behaved like a dog which had constantly chased after a car and then finally caught it: They were ill-prepared about what to do after Obamacare was snagged in their metaphorical jaws.
Getting Back to Basics at the EPA
Over the last decade, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been the poster child for government waste, employee misconduct, and job-killing policies. This pitiful legacy offers new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt a golden opportunity to turn around the troubled agency.
Building the Digital Bridge
In 2014, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) President Tom Schatz and I co-authored a book, Telecom Unplugged: Ushering in a New Digital Era. Some of the material in the book became out of date with the advent of the Open Internet Order on February 26, 2015, and passage of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act on February 24, 2016.